Archive for April, 2009

Happy Earth Day, everyone!  I hope you all are enjoying your Mama Earth and showing others how much you love Her.  In honor of Earth Day, A Week in the Woods celebrates the environment and how everyone of all ages can enjoy nature.

In Week in the Woods, fifth-grader Mark Chelmsley is the new kid in a small town in New Hampshire.  His family is rich (like half of a billion dollars) and Mark is basically killing time before he is shuttled off to boarding school.  He expects to take it easy and not make any friends in his short stay at Hardy Elementary.  What he doesn’t expect is to have any adventures.  Mark, who has lived in New York City, Paris, and San Fransisco, has never been in a landscape like New Hampshire before and all the nature around him compels him to explore the hills surrounding his house.  All his afternoon adventures not only bring out a passion for nature but also a sense of self.  So when he gets invited to A Week in the Woods with all the other fifth graders, he gets ready for some fun-filled nature activities.

Mr. Maxwell, Mark’s fifth grade science teacher has been leading A Week in the Woods for the past 16 years.  When Mark shows up, Mr. Maxwell is forced to overcome his distain for rich, un-environmentally friendly snobs and realize that Mark is not a part of that typical stereotype.  Of course, there are bumps along the way toward mending that relationship, but in the end, Mr. Maxwell and Mark realize their mutual love of nature and the need to help protect the environment. 

As a middle reader (not an easy reader and not quiet young adult liturature), I was impressed by the subtly of the character interactions.  Yet it was readable and so the characters and their roles were perfectly clear.  It is evident why Clements has been on the best seller lists and writer of multi-million copies.  His simplistic style is great for the kid who needs something easier to read while still being quality literature.  Week in the Woods an excellent book for kids to read, especially those who enjoy the outdoors and the environment. 

Other Andrew Clements Books:

• Lost and Found:  Tweve-year-old identical twins Jay and Ray have long resented that everyone treats them as one person, and so they hatch a plot to take advantage of a clearical error at their new school and pretend they are just one.
• The School Story: After twelve-year-old Natalie writes a wonderful novel, her friend Zoe helps her devise a scheme to get it accepted at the publishing house where Natalie’s mother works as an editor.
• Lunch Money: Twelve-year-old Gred, who has always been good at moneymaking projects, is surprise to find himself teaming up with his lifelong rival, Maura, to create a series of comic books to sell at school.
• The Janitor’s Boy: Fifth grader Jack finds himself the target of ridicule at school when it becomes known that his father is one of the janitors, and he turns his anger onto his father.
• Frindle:  When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher’s love of the dictionarly around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new work and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.

Ingrid Law came to Fort Collins to do a book signing at Tavelli Elementary School and it only seems proper that I submit my own review of her novel Savvy. 

I found Savvyto be a great coming of age story that embraces the unique as part of life’s experiences.  The main character is Mibs, who is about to turn 13.  Her family is definitely the weird family of the neighborhood: at the age of 13, the Beaumont family receives an extra-special ability, known as their savvy.  Mibs’ brother Fish manipulates water and weather through his feelings, her other brother Rocket courses with electricity and Mib’s Mom does everything perfectly.  Mibs wishes for x-ray vision or the ability to fly but unfortunately, no one ever knows what their savvy will be.  No matter what, Mib’s birthday is sure to be exceptional.

Just before the big day, the Beaumonts get word that their father has been in a terrible car accident .  Mibs is not allowed to visit him yet and must wait but Mibs decides to take matters into her own hands.  She and her siblings stow away on a bus with some fellow neighborhood kids in an attempt to see their father.  Sadly, the bus heads in the wrong direction and Mibs must find a way to remedy the situation while keeping everyone safe as Mibs awaits to receive her savvy.

The story is a great example of accepting people for who they are.  Mibs must come to grips with her savvy and in the process she learns to accept others for their flaws.  It is unique that Mibs and her family have special abilities and so she must learn to be content with who she while still being able to sympathize with everyone else.  Ingrid Law is a superb example of children’s storytelling and the importance of celebrating uniqueness is paramount in her novel, Savvy.

For the reader who is daunted by pages full of tiny print, this book is perfect.  Regarding the Trees: A Splintered Saga Rooted in Secrets is a novel written in a scrapbook sort of style.  Each page is a different letter, picture, newspaper article or email.  The sister authors manage to create a easy-to-read story line that includes important lessons about life, relationships and interconnectedness. 

Regarding the Trees takes place at Spring Creek Middle School where the principal is attempting to improve the grounds through tree removal.  The students and community become involved in an effort to figure out whether tree removal is the best option for everyone.  As you can probably guess, the importance of trees is explored and the students manage to help save the trees while improving the town’s conservation efforts. 

Though this book is a continuation of previous stories, it still manages to stand on its own.  The story is simple enough that kids will be able to grasp the important messages whils enjoying the charming illustrations.  But most importantly: they will be reading!